A good house has been identified; now to buy it — not a simple matter, according to Jeff the realtor.

The house has broadloom carpet throughout the upstairs, and that must go — ideally, before any furniture is hauled in. The Stratford house had the same problem, but it had swing space where the study stuff and the bedroom furniture could be stashed while the flooring people laid pre-finished hardwood. So I will need a plan for that.

Jeff the realtor has an excellent method for compelling his clients to make their own decisions based on their true wants and needs. He can be quite forceful about it, but with me he was preaching to the converted.

The house in my old neighbourhood flunked out of contention because it lacks storage space and its awful kitchen would cost about $30K to refit. Also, its footprint is very small, so it’s like a tower with several levels and dozens of stairs.

The big-city traffic noise doesn’t bother me, but I’m a bit unnerved by the density of the traffic stream on arterial roads. I handled it casually before, and I’m sure I’ll readjust.